Hyundai has launched an all new vehicle that for all intents and purposes is not a Hyundai in the traditional sense.  The Hyundai Genesis is simply an incredible leap in luxury and of course price for the Korean automaker.

Even though it’s claimed this car is competing against cars like the Chrysler 300, they built this car with Mercedes and BMW in their crosshairs.  This car is the first by Hyundai to offer a V8 option, and no slouch of one at that with an estimated 368HP and speeds that can get the car from 0-60 in under 6 seconds.

The car has luxurious amenities galore, many of which included, such as proximity entry with push button start, bluetooth hands free phone system, and dual heated mirrors with turn signal indicators.  When you consider against the something like the BMW, where you can get nickeled and dimed for some features you’d figure are standard, you can see that the luxury car companies may have to rethink how they offer similar features to compete.

The one thing we don’t know is how the driving experience compares.  I have to say there is something about driving a BMW or Mercedes that is unlike anything else.  It is a total driver experience.  It’s not really tangible, but you know it when you feel it.  You are almost an extension of the car.  If Hyundai can get close to this feeling in the Genesis, look out.

For a V8 model, you’re looking at about $38k, which is a bargain when you consider other cars that are the same size and price, the BMW 550 is $58k and the Mercedes E550 is $61k.  With this economy being in the toilet, I would not be surprised to see quite a few of these drivers jump ship to save about $20k.  I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

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